Posted on 02/07/2010 9:27:40 AM PST by malamute
An explosion in Middletown, Connecticut has rocked the town. Initial reports are that about a dozen people have been injured.
Middletown, United States - The Middletown Fire Department just said in a phone interview that they are in the process of putting out a second alarm. There are an unknown number of casualities. The explosion took place at NRG Power Plant on River Road. According to their web site they are the fossil-fueled electric generating plant in the state. Reports are saying that the blast could be felt as far away as Durham.
(Excerpt) Read more at digitaljournal.com ...
ping
If you mean “don’t do it today, just because it’s Sunday.” then I would would say “It’s Sunday” is not a reason not to plan work and not to do the work they planned for today, unless during the safety brief for the evolution, or during the morning start up meeting issues were brought up that could make things not as safe as they could be and that could be people tired, not all personnel necessary on site and a hundred other things. This could be the case here. During a start up, work goes on, on day shift, every day. There is no weekend. People do get days off, but not necessarily Saturday and Sunday. Night shift, usually not much happens operations wise. Although there is work done, it’s mostly routine. I look with interest to the reason this happened. Was it a natural gas explosion from a rupture, meaning 500 psi gas engulfing the Turbine Building quickly, or was it a slow leak built up without notice. The plant I work at has not had a lost time accident, an OSHA recordable, or an OSHA reportable in 10 years. Major HP steam leak is probably my biggest concern where I work. Major gas leak, number two. H2 leak, third.
Just my personal opinion. 10 plus years experience with GE Frame 7’s, oops, I mean MS7001+e, and 20 years with GE aero derivative gas turbines and a former sister plant with Siemens. Have a shift partner was a FE for Mitsubishi for 5 years.
Here is another link:
**Coldest days this year, very snowy across the region?**
Before I retired from the power plants we always tried to get a unit back on line as soon as possible, no matter what the weather or date. I had to start up many a unit in below “o” weather.
And three day holidays when everyone is off and gone, except the necessary on site crew, seems the “best time” for plant trouble and trip offs.
Where do you work?
Maybe thinking, “the big game”
I don’t know about that. The little I read said it was a new type of plant that nearing completion. Someone might not have wanted the good results to get out......just saying, if someone is going to lose money....
During an availability, the repair crews (millwrights and machinists, pipers and riggers and welders, foremen, etc are all scheduled on two 7x12 hour shifts (or 2x6x12 hour shifts if Sundays are off), then (usually) a startup crew comes on right towards the end with dedicated startup and testing crews that are (almost always) even smaller.
Even with shift turnovers taking 1/2 hour before and after each shift, it’s generally just the floor engineers and general foreman who stay over. You can’t delay testing (steam and boiler heatup, vibration checks, oil flow checks and heatup, oil flushes, or whatever) just because it’s a Sunday.
HP steam scares the heck out of me.
It was John W questioning the startup...not I. :-)
Agreed...it would have to be some other reason for that many people around.
You sure that’s it?
Looks like half to me.
It's sunny and 35 here in CT.
I’m not see live video... is it right down on the river, or the bluff above? I think some reports are showing the wrong place.
eyeppers
HP steam scares the heck out of me.
Spent 5 weeks repairing a 3800 psig main steam (HP turbine valve outlet) pipe that burst through underneath the turbine floor at Eddystone 1 over a Christmas and News Years “holiday” period: the burst pipe had swung sideways, destroyed itself and badly bent a 18 inch deep main building beam next to the turbine.
Almost 4 thick pipe walls blown completely through. We couldn't even X-rays completely through clearly and to take two shots to get coverage of the inside of the welds.
~ping
Anyone have any idea when they will know the exact number of deaths?
This is so very sad.
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